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Saturday, 23 February 2013

Reflection/Homily: Second (2nd) Sunday of Lent Year C (23rd February 2013)

Reflection/Homily: Second (2nd) Sunday of Lent Year
C

Theme: Listening to Jesus

In today’s
Gospel reading (Luke 9:28-36) Jesus went up to the mountain to pray with three
of his disciples. Within the course of the prayer, Moses and Elijah appeared
and Jesus was bodily transfigured into glory as his face and clothe were as
dazzling as the sun. Rapt in this glorious ecstasy, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is wonderful for us to be here; so let
us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” He did not
even consider their own accommodation. All he wanted was to remain there experiencing
the glory of God.

But as
Peter spoke, something dramatic happened before Jesus could reply. Suddenly, a
cloud came and covered them with shadow and as the disciples were trying to
understand what was going on, a voice spoke and said “This is my Son, the
Chosen One. Listen to him.” Immediately, the two guests (Moses and Elijah) left
and Jesus was found alone. In other words, we can say that immediately the
voice finished speaking, the whole glorious scene ended waiting for the time
the disciples would experience this beatific vision permanently.

The voice
which spoke in the cloud could be said to have provided an answer to the
request Peter made. Peter wanted to remain there forever but the voice said “…
Listen to him (Jesus)”. That means that for them to experience the beatific
vision in reality, they have to listen to Jesus. If we were in Peter’s shoes,
we would have requested for a permanent experience as Peter did but the voice
is still offering us the same answer as a condition: we should listen to Jesus.

Within
this period of lent, the Church also invites us to listen to Jesus and one of
the things we will hear him say is “Take your cross and follow me”. The cross
might frighten us a little bit but the gospel reading assures us that if we listen
to Jesus and die with him now, we shall also rise with him in glory at Easter
and beyond. The apostles didn't find it easy listening and following Jesus but
today, they are experiencing in totality the Glory that was revealed to them in
part as a foretaste.

To listen
to Jesus therefore involves not just reading or hearing the words of the Bible but
perfect obedience to the words of the Bible (the Word of God). In Jesus, the
entire Bible is fulfilled. He is the fulfillment of the Law and all Old
Testament prophecies as he said in Matthew 5:7. He is the highest point of
God’s revelation of Himself in the Bible. To concretise this, Moses and Elijah
representing two sections of the Old Testament (The law and the Prophets)
appeared with Jesus who is the symbol of the New Testament.

For us
Christians, what this means for us is that we have to focus on God’s Word if we
really want to experience the beatific vision of God in heaven. The second
reading (Phil 3:17-4:1) assures us that one of the great promises of God is to
transform us totally. That is why Jesus’ transfiguration becomes a foretaste of
our own transfiguration in heaven. This is because the Scripture promises us
that when Christ appears, we shall be like him because we shall see Him as He
really is (1 John 3:2).

Do you
want to be like Christ? Then you have to listen to him. We can listen to Christ
in the voice of that early morning preacher who we think disturbs us with his
repentance message. We can listen to Christ in the voice of the poor begging us
to show them love. We can listen to Christ in the voice of those crying for
justice. We can listen to Christ in the teachings of the Church. We can also
listen to Christ in the meditative reading of the Sacred Scriptures and in
personal prayer.

Therefore beloved
friends, let us be sure that God can never abandon His promises. Let us make
effort to listen to his beloved Son and be sure that on the last day, our
obedience to his voice will merit us our salvation. We saw in the first reading
(Gen 15:5-12, 17-18) that Abram’s obedience to God won him and his descendants
the Promised Land. So our obedience will win us not just a temporal promised
land here on earth but a permanent promised land there in heaven. God loves
you.

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